Trump Trumped by Weekend Protests

By Doug Porter

I spent the weekend in Los Angeles, doing the kinds of thing Angelenos like to brag about in selling their city as a tourism destination. I went to a Keith Jarrett concert, dropped in on the Last Book Store, and caught a glimpse of the Daytime Emmys, which just happened to be staged at our hotel.

I posted vacation pictures on Facebook, ate some amazing meals, and walked more than six miles in one day as we explored the heart of the city. There was, however, no escaping the politics of the era.

Thousands of SEIU janitors jammed up traffic on the day we arrived, demanding higher pay, better working conditions and an end to unfair labor practices. Their chants echoed up the towers of our hotel. A Saturday stroll through the park ended up at a Bernie Sanders rally. And a last-minute decision to check out an exhibit at the Getty Room of the LA Public Library ended up being a cautionary tale about the Rise of the Donald.

The Holocaust Museum’s State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propaganda served as a chilling reminder of what we’ve seen on the Republican side of the campaign trail this year. …a strong man rises, proposing instant solutions, tells lots of lies, all while demonizing entire classes of people in his quest for power…

Meanwhile, probable 2016 Republican nominee Donald Trump was touring California. On Friday news and social media feeds were filled with images from demonstrations outside a rally held in Costa Mesa.

Hundreds of Latinos and their supporters turned out to protest the nativism and racism at the core of the celebrity billionaire’s campaign. It was, according to participants, reminiscent of the protests surrounding the campaign for Proposition 187, the peak of anti-immigrant hostility in California. There were some violent confrontations, eggs were thrown, and a police car was trashed. Twenty people were arrested.

Inside the rally, Trump doubled down on his message, kicking off by parading people on the stage who he claimed had relatives killed by ‘illegal immigrants.’ While the Trump later claimed there were 31,000 people in attendance, a later fact check showed the facility only held 8,200. The Pulitzer prize-winning team at Politifact has The Donald rated at 75% for Mostly False, False and Pants-on-Fire claims. It’s the Big Lies, over and over again.

In the Back Door, Thanks to “Thugs and Criminals”

On Friday. he and his entourage were an hour late arriving at the State GOP convention in Burlingame.

Protesters — some of whom wore bandanas over their faces and carried Mexican flags — blocked off the road in front of the Hyatt Regency here, forcing the GOP front-runner’s motorcade to pull over along a concrete median outside the hotel’s back entrance. Trump and his entourage got out and walked into the building.

“That was not the easiest entrance I’ve ever made,” Trump said once he began speaking at the convention, adding, “it felt like I was crossing the border.”

He slammed the protestors on Twitter Saturday, calling them “thugs and criminals.”

The three-day event drew an at-capacity crowd — as well as throngs of protesters and reporters — to hear presidential contenders Donald Trump, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. The three were given prime speaking slots to address the state GOP’s full delegation.

The crew of Republican Senate candidates, by contrast, were given eight minutes each to speak to delegates on Sunday afternoon, the final event of the day.

By the time they took the stage, the hotel ballroom that hours ago held hundreds had thinned out to about 60 people.

The man who did more than just about anybody to destroy the California Republican Party endorsed Senator Ted Cruz.

The former GOP leader, who served the Golden State during the 1990s, is known for backing what critics considered harsh measures to block undocumented immigrants from receiving benefits in California. The ensuing backlash and helped end Wilson’s presidential ambitions and career and turn California from a presidential swing-state to a solidly blue Democratic bulwark as the state’s large and growing Hispanic population lined up behind Democrats.

Wilson defended Cruz’s immigration stances.

“He is not anti-immigration. He, as am I, is for the legal immigration that has made this nation great. He is hardly anti-Latino,” said Wilson, to laughter.

Honest, I did NOT add the “to laughter” part.

Republicans remain divided over Trump, with optimists hoping voters can be persuaded to split tickets when voting and pessimists hoping for a third party candidate who will somehow save the day.

Potential challengers from the right for the general elections are dropping out faster than conservative columnist Bill Kristol (the man who brought us Sarah Palin) can suggest their names. This morning’s suggested slate is Romney-Rubio. (I really could add ‘to laughter’ here.)

Trump’s speech at the convention offered little-to-nothing in the way of hope for California Republicans.

“Ideally, we’re going to be together,” Trump said, extending his version of an olive branch to California Republicans. But, he added, “I think I will win if we’re not together.”

In other words, Trump’s campaign remains only about Trump. And the rest of California Republicans be damned.

This is fabulous news if you’re a progressive, because having Trump at the top of the GOP ticket is political uranium, poisoning any hope that California Republicans had of seeming more palatable to women, Millennials and Latinos, people who are also known as the future of California. A Trump-centered run will lock the state GOP in its neutered position for the foreseeable future: No statewide GOP elected officials. Permanent minority status in the Legislature. A minor speed bump to progressive ballot measures.

And in Tinfoil Hat Land…

Today’s disruptive, violent protests against Donald Trump by the left constitute free Trump publicity, helping ensure he wins the GOP nomination. While most of the protesters probably think they are helping defeat Trump, I suspect that smarter folks on the left quietly support these protests to get loser Trump the nomination.

If Trump wins the nomination, it will assure not only a Democrat President in a landslide, but likely will cost the GOP the majority in the Senate, and perhaps the House.

Interestingly, a few Mexican flags have appeared at these protests, igniting the usual right wing indignation. It helps both Trump AND the Democrat Party — a win-win.

This Manchurian Trump theory has been making the rounds for over a year now, with a John Fund effort at making the conspiracy public via the National Review.

Catch of the Day

Kudos to Sara for busting Kevin Faulconer using a city website to sent visitors to his campaign.

On This Day: 1902 – “A Trip to the Moon,” the first science fiction film was released. It was created by magician George Melies. 1933 – German police units occupied all trade unions headquarters in the country, arresting union officials and leaders. Their treasuries were confiscated and the unions abolished. Hitler announced that the German Labour Front, headed by his appointee, would replace all unions and look after the working class. 1980 – The South African government banned the Pink Floyd song “Another Brick in the Wall (PartII).”

I read the Daily Fishwrap(s) so you don’t have to… Catch “the Starting Line” Monday thru Friday right here at San Diego Free Press (dot) org. Send your hate mail and ideas to DougPorter@SanDiegoFreePress.Org Check us out on Facebook and Twitter.

Doug Porter

Doug Porter was active in the early days of the alternative press in San Diego, contributing to the OB Liberator, the print version of the OB Rag, the San Diego Door, and the San Diego Street Journal. He went on to have a 35-year career in the Hospitality business and decided to go back into raising hell when he retired. He won numerous awards for his columns from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Doug is a cancer survivor (sans vocal chords) and lives in North Park.